This invention is concerned with fishing rods. Some fishing rods, such as those used for sea fishing from boats, are relatively long and heavy and can be awkward or cumbersome to lift and carry whilst moving around on board a boat, such as when preparing to fish with a rod, or when stowing the rod at the end of fishing.
The present invention is for an object to make fishing rods easier and more convenient to handle.
In accordance with one aspect the invention provides a carrying handle for attachment to a fishing rod, comprising a hand grip shaped and dimensioned for comfortable gripping in the hand, a clamp for firm attachment to a fishing rod, and an arm interconnecting the clamp and the grip so that the grip extends generally alongside and spaced from the fishing rod when the handle is secured to the rod by the clamp.
In one presently preferred construction the handle has a pair of clamps connected by respective arms to opposite ends of the hand grip. With this arrangement a firm attachment of the hand grip to the rod is possible so that undesirable relative movements of the hand grip and fishing rod are eliminated or minimilised.
According to another preferred construction the handle has a single clamp from which the arm and hand grip extend outwardly and forwardly.
Conveniently the or each clamp includes a saddle fixed at the end of the arm, a clamping element movably coupled to the saddle and a tightening device for tightening the clamping element and saddle around a fishing rod. The saddle and clamping element can be arcuate, in particular substantially semicircular so that when tightened together around a fishing rod they form a substantially closed ring. The tightening device may comprise a releasable fastener, and in an especially convenient embodiment threaded screw fasteners are utilised. To avoid projections on which a fishing line could snag, or which could cause injury, each screw is engaged with a tapped hole in one part, e.g. the saddle, and has the screw head accommodated in a counterbore provided in the other part, e.g. the clamping element.
In an especially convenient construction the or each clamp comprises an axially split collar which can be opened sufficiently to enable the collar to be passed over the end of the fishing rod. When the handle is adjusted to the required position, the collar is clamped around the rod, such as by one or more fasteners extending between the parts separated by the axial split. The position of the split can be aligned with the hand grip and connection arm which may also be split, at least part way along their length from the collar, and the clamping fasteners can then be located between the split parts of the hand grip and/or connecting arm for holding these parts firmly together when the fasteners are tightened.
In accordance with another aspect the invention resides in a fishing rod fitted with a carrying handle attached securely thereto so that a hand grip of the handle extends alongside the fishing rod in a region below the fishing reel seat of the rod. The handle is preferably as described above.